“Glee” star Heather Morris sports a black eye in controversial new photo shoot

Heather Morris is a popular name because of her portrayal of the ditzy cheerleader Brittany on the TV series “Glee.” But what do fans think of her now?

“Glee” star Heather Morris sports a black eye in the domestic abuse-themed photo shoot of renowned provocative photographer Tyler Shields that is sparking quite a bit of controversy.

The 24-year-old TV starlet posed for a photo shoot in a series of awkward positions in which she is representing a “‘Barbie style’ housewife,” according to Tyler Shields. But the shoot led many tongues wagging that it is glamorizing domestic violence and makes light of aggressive situations.

Talking to E! News, the Hollywood’s favorite young photographer defended his artistic visualization, saying: “In no way were we promoting domestic violence. We wanted to do a bruised-up Barbie shoot and that’s exactly what we did.”

Heather Morris, 24, shows a bruised face in the series of pictures shot by Tyler who has already worked with “Glee” stars Dianna Agron and Jenna Ushkovitz and is known for his racy images of Lindsay Lohan. While critics are calling his latest photo shoot offensive, Tyler Shields is standing by his project. Clarifying his intent, he told the Daily Mail: "“Our shoot poses a lot of questions, but just like in real life, Heather is definitely not a victim,” he says. “More like a really liberated woman.”

In the photos Heather Morris, the McKinley High dim-witted cheerleader, is seen wearing a black and white dress performing wifely duties and household chores like ironing but is shown tied up by the iron’s cord in one photo, and drinking the water from the steam compartment in another.

Tyler Shields is all praise for the young actress. “Heather Morris is amazing, she's incredibly talented. She's a dancer by nature so she has abilities other people don't have,” he continued. “No photoshop no tricks, all Heather. I was tied up she was tied up everybody got in the game. She even put the hot iron on my assistant Jordon's face. He is okay!"

Heather Morris got her start on the musical series when she was brought in to show the cast how to do the dance for "Single Ladies" as she had previously performed as a backup dancer to Beyoncé on "Saturday Night Live" and the American Music Awards. Heather Morris got her big break after she made an impression on the show's writers and her small role was turned into a regular part. Heather Morris was also a contestant on season two of "So You Think You Can Dance."

Morris has yet to respond to the controversy.

The musical comedy series “Glee” returns to FOX on September 20.